Water for people... people for water
Grahamstown is leading the way in combining the management of water service delivery and management of water in the landscape, including rivers, streams, dams and underground water. We have the first Water, Sanitation and Catchment Management Forum (WSCMF) in the country.
This Forum is a water governance institution where local people can influence water management. We need to get water to people, and remove human, agricultural and industrial wastes.
We also need people to participate in water-related activities so that we can use and look after water resources now and in the future.
To do this fairly – so people are confident their water is available and safe - people need to be actively involved.
Forums are the governance institutions that enable people to participate.
What exactly is a catchment management forum (CMF)?
A CMF is a voluntary forum where role players and stakeholders can participate in, and contribute to, water resource management in a catchment. It is owned and run by the people and supported by the Department of Water and Sanitation. There are many CMFs across the country.
In 2016 the Minister of Water and Sanitation called on municipalities to form water and sanitation forums. In Makana we have combined these, and formed a water, sanitation and catchment forum.
We need forum members who are interested in both water and waste in the landscape, and in pipes.
South Africa is large, with nine Water Management areas.
The water resources of each are governed by a Catchment Management Agency (CMA). Each Agency has several catchment management forums with many different local interests.
The Eastern Cape Catchment Management Agency stretches from the Mzimvubu River to the Tsitsikamma River. Our Makana Water, Sanitation and Catchment Management Forum will communicate our local issues and vision to the MzimvubuTsitsikamma Agency.
How can you get involved in water related issues and activities here in the Makana Municipality?
The easiest way is to join our local Forum.
A catchment management forum is a great place to learn about the characteristics of and key issues of our catchment. Here are some of the things we know about the Upper Kowie catchment: • The authorities of Grahamstown have struggled to supply enough water to its residents since 1813 when the town was first established.
They were constantly required to find and exploit additional water supplies as the population steadily increased; • Grahamstown can have four seasons in one day but doesn’t get enough regular rainfall for us all (residents, farmers and businesses) to have all the water we want. We must plan to supply the water we need and to care for water in the rivers; • We do not have enough space in our older dams (Settlers, Howieson's Poort, Milner and Jameson dams) to supply the whole city; so Grahamstown now gets more than half of its water from the Orange River.
This water comes via tunnels and canals from the Orange River, via the Great Fish River. Then it is pumped to the Glen Melville Dam and finally to Grahamstown; • Our city's water system is complicated and has been upgraded and partially replaced in a patchy way. This makes it difficult for the Makana Municipality to operate effectively; • Our Belmont Valley Sewage Treatment is too small to handle all the waste from our growing population. There is funding, and there are plans to upgrade it but this will take time; • The Bloukrans River that drains all the water leaving Grahamstown is very polluted; • Our municipality is understaffed and those who are there are overwhelmed with all that needs to be done; • Communication between the municipality and residents has been a constant challenge.
Lately, the municipal communication has improved and regular updates are sent via WhatsApp and email. But what about those who do not have access to these facilities? • In addition, MobiSAM is working hand in hand with the municipality to implement a cellular reporting system which will further improve communication.
It is hard to manage water supply, waste disposal and water in the landscape.
That’s why it is important that everyone does their bit to contribute to improving our catchment.
The Forum will bring people who are interested in water together.
They will have different skills and will work together to communicate issues and visions to local, regional and national decision makers.
What sort of activities can you expect to do in the Makana Water, Sanitation and Catchment Management Forum?
Well that's up to you as participants in the forum. We decide together what the major issues are that we want to focus on in our catchment and what sorts of activities we want to run and participate in. Some of the initial areas that the forum is focusing on are: • Getting to the bottom of the pollution incident of the Sacred Pools on the Bloukrans River. The Sacred Pools are a traditional healing site that has become too polluted to carry out cultural ceremonies. The Forum is working with the Eastern Cape Water Caucus and various municipal and departmental officials to better understand the factors contributing to this pollution incident; • Developing a strategy to guide the management of the upper Kowie River catchment, and support water service delivery and waste removal for people; • Participating in and supporting water-related learning activities such as learning workshops, and visiting the Water Treatment Works and Waste Water Treatment Works; and • Working with local Department of Water and Sanitation water programmes such as the water-saving Drop a Block campaign, and the Green and Blue Drop programmes. As the forum grows, we can address other issues and gradually see a change towards a healthier catchment.
Who can join?
Anyone interested in water, sanitation and the catchment.
Who can you contact?
Yoliswa Ramokolo, the communications officer for Makana Municipality and the go-to contact person for the Upper Kowie Water, Sanitation and Catchment Management Forum (yramokolo@makana.gov. za, 078 550 2707) or Matthew Weaver, the interim chairperson of the forum (mjtweaver@ gmail.com, 072 705 6433).
The next forum meeting will be held in mid-May, (exact date to be confirmed). We hope to see you there.
• Matthew Weaver is a researcher at the Institute for Water Research, Unilever Centre for Environmental Water Quality, Rhodes
University